The Vistana was the first downtown market rate rental property in decades.

The Vistana was the first downtown market rate rental property in decades.

Photo: Express-News File Photo

'Decade of downtown' need not end with Castro's exit

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SAN ANTONIO — As we consider the impact of Mayor Julián Castro's departure to become secretary of HUD, let's not view his move to Washington as a falling domino that spells doom for the decade of downtown. Instead, look at it for what it really is; a symbol of the inevitable winds of change that will always swirl across the political landscape.

Yes, Mayor Castro's move east will lead to change at City Hall and throughout the political system. We will have a new mayor, or two, within the space of a year. Seats on the council will become available. And politicians previously seen strolling the halls of the statehouse may swap places with those working the corridors of City Hall.

Just as our NBA Champion San Antonio Spurs will eventually have to adjust to life without the “Big 3” and “Pop,” we as a community have to adjust to the loss of our biggest downtown supporter.

The Spurs still have time; our adjustment has begun.

Although Centro San Antonio was created as keeper of the community vision for downtown and a constant in a sea of change, we're certainly not immune to political change. As a public/private partnership, our board of directors includes elected officials. When change happens in the halls of political power, it happens at our board table, too.

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What doesn't change is the community vision that Centro has been asked to execute. We have a strategic framework plan to guide us, an implementation plan for us to follow, and a Comprehensive Master Plan that will help energize a tactical urban agenda to set the stage for many years to come.

Centro's next step is to communicate this urban agenda and educate elected officials, both current and future, on why downtown matters.

Today, San Antonio is sprawling and the cost of sprawl is unsustainable. Expenses for basic services, currently more than 70 percent of the city's general fund, continue to rise. That means fewer dollars for capital investment in community assets located in the heart of downtown. If the percentage grows, our center city will decay, and we'll be left with a gaping hole in the heart of our community.

Simply put, it's about balance. Leaders of great cities find a way to balance basic services and capital investment. They commit to provide citizens with safe, well-maintained streets, beautiful parks and vibrant, welcoming open spaces. They know such core amenities appeal to visitors and greatly influence their city's image and reputation. Leaders of great cities invest in their iconic assets because those are forever linked to their city's brand in the eyes of the world.

If our city leaders allow the cost of basic services to eat away at our entire general fund, and fail to reinvest in our iconic assets or invest in new catalytic projects, we put our visitor industry, our downtown economy and our entire city at risk.

That's why Centro San Antonio encourages the mayor and City Council to remain resolute in support of the city manager's efforts to negotiate fair and responsible police and firefighter labor contracts that balance the needs of the community with the needs of these public servants. There is only so much we can afford.

Being able to afford the investment is one thing. Investing in the right projects in the right places is another matter entirely.

Imagine what downtown San Antonio would look like today if the AT&T Center, where our Spurs won their fifth NBA title, and Wolff Stadium, where the Missions won the Texas League title in 2013, sat side-by-side. We'd be light-years ahead of where we are today.

For all the good both venues have done San Antonio, the return on investment could have been so much better.

Need proof? Look to San Francisco, where a $357 million baseball stadium catalyzed development of 6,000 housing units, 6 million square feet of office space and more than 40 acres of parks.

Or San Diego, where a $450 million baseball stadium helped spawn a neighborhood, retail and entertainment hub with over 10,000 residents. We would venture to say that these catalytic projects, like those in San Antonio over the years, had their detractors.

So it's really no surprise that a project such as a modern streetcar system is struggling to win the hearts and minds of our citizens. It's become a political hot potato. While Centro supports streetcar in concept, we have a duty to push VIA to commit to a route that truly connects people to places they want to visit.

Do that and developers will be ready with shovels in the ground. Do less, and we play right into the hands of those detractors.

If we want to be a truly great city, not a city that aspires to “some day” be great, we need big action and big investment to fulfill big dreams.

The mayor, through the community's vision, his administration's agenda and his passion for his hometown, has laid a strong foundation for this city. We need to build on that foundation.

So if lack of Class A office space hurts our ability to recruit or retain jobs downtown, then let's figure out how to build it.

If we want infill development — and we should because residential and job density is our friend — let's have policies that encourage housing growth and target industries that fit downtown.

And if you're not a streetcar fan but want transit options to the South Texas Medical Center and the airport, get on board with light rail. But don't kill the streetcar to get it.

San Antonio needs to balance outward growth with an aligned reinvestment strategy for the center city. We need to re-evaluate policies such as development impact fees and the tree ordinance so that the cost burden is placed where it belongs. And we need to adopt policies such as the vacant building pilot program to encourage development in underinvested communities and force property owners to be responsible.

Developers will invest in those communities if they have confidence that the city is committed to a reinvestment strategy and has the patience to stick to it. We need to embrace developers who share our long-term vision, and accept the fact that they will make a fair return. And we need to have the courage to say no to developers who only have a short-term interest in making money.

In the Roaring '20s, we were the most western cosmopolitan city in the country; a place where New Yorkers and presidents came to visit.

In the '60s, we were viewed as a city of the future through the lens of HemisFair, which gave us the bones for our downtown visitor economy.

We have the opportunity to be an international city of innovation.

Starting today, let's make sure that developers and investors see San Antonio as something more than a sprawling city of suburbs and subdivisions.

Let's show them our commitment to attract millenials, the creative class and the start-up generation. Let's show them we can prosper no matter which direction the political winds blow.

And like the Spurs, let's play big-league ball on our home court.

Let's call on our elected officials to show leadership, put aside partisan labels and ideologies, commit to consensus building and reunite our city.

Change is coming. Let's embrace it.

Don Frost is president of Frost Bank and chairman of the board of Centro San Antonio. Pat DiGiovanni is president and CEO of Centro San Antonio.